1. Field of the Invention
The invention is related to the field of a vial clamp, and more particularly, to a self-centering vial clamp.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are many processes that involve the use and handling of vials of materials. For example, vials may be used to store, transport, and/or test a variety of materials in industrial, scientific, and medical processes, to give a few examples. The vials can be of varying sizes, shapes, and capacities. The vials can be formed of any material, but vials are often made from glass due to the relatively inexpensive cost of glass and due to the chemical unreactiveness of glass. The main drawback is that glass is easily damaged or broken.
In the prior art, vial handling can be automated or manual in nature. Automated handling may work well for processing and handling large and continuing streams of vials, but is typically not needed or economical for non mass-production situations. In a processing situation, one or more vials may be manually inserted into a measurement or testing apparatus (or other vial handling or processing device). In order to minimize processing time and maximize efficiency, it is desirable to reduce the energy, time, and effort needed to properly place and hold a vial. Makers of equipment that handle and hold vials desire to minimize the need for a user to manipulate racks, holders, clamps, and so forth, as significant vial handling requirements will increase the overall processing cost and time. Further, vial handling requirements may detract from the user's ability to devote full attention to the measurements or tests to be performed.
The prior art has other drawbacks. Improper placement and/or alignment of a vial may negatively affect the test, such as where material to be added to a vial is dispensed outside of the vial or is otherwise spilled or wasted. Improper placement and/or alignment of a vial may damage the vial, such as where a probe is to be inserted into the vial as part of a process. Where the vial is glass or a similar breakable material, any misalignment may cause damage to or breakage of the vial Improper placement and/or alignment of a vial can damage the associated instrument. Improper placement and/or alignment of a vial can cause the vial to be tipped, resulting in spillage of expensive materials.